Celebrate food, life and diversity. Join me in the search for the right ingredients: Food without human antibiotics, growth hormones and other harmful additives that have become commonplace in animals raised on factory farms.

Attention food shoppers

We are legions -- legions who are sorely neglected by the media, which prefer glorifying chefs. I love restaurants as much as anyone else, but feel that most are unresponsive to customers who want to know how the food they are eating was grown or raised.I hope my blog will be a valuable resource for helping you find the healthiest food in supermarkets, specialty stores and restaurants in northern New Jersey. In the past five years, I stopped eating meat, poultry, bread and pizza, and now focus on a heart-healthy diet of seafood, vegetables, fruit, whole-wheat pasta and brown rice. I'm happiest when I am eating. -- VICTOR E. SASSON

Sunday, September 30, 2012

You'd expect a dish with two small but mighty ocean fish to be salty, but pasta with canned sardines and anchovies really piles it on.

There is sodium in nearly every ingredient, including the imported Colavita whole-wheat pasta I sometimes use.

The first way to cut salt in the recipe is to stop salting the water used for boiling the pasta.

In the past, I'd pump up the flavor by dumping sardines and anchovies and all their oil into the sauce, but now I drain the cans and add extra-virgin olive oil, which has no sodium.

A 2-ounce can of anchovies has 860 milligrams of sodium or 36% of the recommended daily intake of 2,400 milligrams.

The anchovies dissolve completely, but give the sauce a hearty, non-fishy flavor.

A 4-ounce-plus can of the Moroccan sardines I use has 603 milligrams of sodium.

But the only way to avoid more sodium in the sauce is to make it yourself.

Today, I looked at the labels of a dozen bottled pasta sauces at the Hackensack ShopRite, and typically saw more than 300, 400 or even 500 milligrams of sodium listed for a serving size of one-half cup.

The nutritional label of Mario Batali Tomato Basil sauce.

I found the lowest salt content in Chef Mario Batali's Tomato Basil pasta sauce -- only 180 mg per half cup -- but other Mario Batali sauces have a lot more sodium.When I serve pasta with sardines and anchovies, I like to add grated Pecorino Romano, a sheep's milk cheese, so that's another source of sodium.Not using salt in the pasta water and draining the cans of fish are good first steps, but I think I have to go further.I could cut the amount of sardines -- to two cans from three or four per pound of pasta -- as well as use less bottled sauce and more extra-virgin olive oil.I could also stop adding anchovies, but the sauce wouldn't be as robust. I can skip the grated cheese.

And I can console myself about the high sodium content of the dish by always drinking a glass or two of red wine with it.At least that would be good for my heart.

Trader Joe's hot dogs, jumbo franks and bacon are uncured and preservative-free, but the franks are made from beef raised with harmful antibiotics and growth hormones.

Trader Joe's conventional and organic sweet potatoes and fresh figs.

I dashed out to Trader Joe 's in Paramus for uncured bacon and hot dogs, as well as sweet potatoes, but came home with so much more.

I couldn't resist a 20-inch stalk studded with fresh Brussels Sprouts ($3.49) or a 2-pound package of fresh, sugary black figs from California ($4.99).I went for more conventional sweet potatoes (85 cents a pound), but also picked up organic sweet potatoes ($1.23 a pound).Costco Wholesale, where I usually buy a 10-pound box of sweet potatoes, has them only at the holidays, and doesn't sell the organic ones.

I bought the antibiotic-free Trader Joe's Uncured Bacon ($3.99) and Trader Joe's Uncured All Beef Hot Dogs ($4.49) for my teen-age son, but he also wanted the Jumbo Uncured Franks, even though they are made with conventionally raised beef.

These drug-filled jumbo franks ($4.49) and other items are why Consumers Union has launched a campaign to get Trader Joe's to sell only meat free of harmful animal antibiotics.

Here is an e-mail I received on the campaign from the political and action arm of Consumer Reports magazine:

"You’re now one of the half-million Americans demanding that antibiotics get out of our food animals.

"Yesterday, your name was among those delivered to
Trader Joe’s New York City flagship store asking the grocery chain to
sell only meat raised without antibiotics!

"And ‘you’ arrived in style, accompanied by signs, speakers
and our new mascot, Joe the Pig, who wants Trader Joe’s to get him off
drugs!"The widespread use of antibiotics in food animals
contributes to the spread of deadly, antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ in
humans. We’ve asked Trader Joe’s – one of the nation’s most progressive
grocers – to lead the way and sell only no-antibiotic meat.

"And
hundreds of thousands of you agreed.

"But company executives have refused to meet with us to consider your request.
So we bundled all 557,772 of your petition signatures (on a
paper-saving flash drive) and delivered it to the NYC store so execs
know shoppers are serious."Consumers can change the marketplace if we speak out together. If
grocery stores stop selling antibiotic-raised meat, factory farms will
stop using overusing this drug. If you have friends and family who are
concerned about the overuse of antibiotics and superbugs, forward this
message so they can get involved."

The promotional case from 4 Seasons Wine Club was $69.99, plus 19.99 for tax and shipping, or a total of $6 a bottle.

I'll drink to that.

At Wine.com, I found one of the bottles -- a 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon from Charles Smith in Washington State -- for $19.99.

You also get notes on each wine, the winemakers and the wine-making region, as well as food pairings. An Argentine malbec is described as "chocolaty, smooth."

This is the fourth wine club I've "joined," with no obligation to purchase any more cases, which invariably are sold at higher prices.This latest promotion didn't come with bonuses of a rabbit corkscrew or carafe, which I have received in the past, but the value is excellent.

The wines are smooth and free of harsh tannins.

Of course, you can buy a bottle of wine for as little as $3 in a store, but it won't be nearly as drinkable as any of these wines.

The previous wine-club promotions I've enjoyed were sponsored by Zagat, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Mashed squash reappears at breakfast with eggs and sun-dried tomatoes.

Wild king salmon and whole-wheat spaghetti, both with freshly made pesto.

Pasta and egg whites with pesto are a healthy alternative to bacon and eggs.

Here is Marcella Hazan's recipe for making pesto in a blender, minus salt and butter.

She used two kinds of cheese, but I use only grated Pecorino Romano, a sheep's milk cheese.

I made pesto a few days ago, and used the "Chop" setting on my blender -- a slow speed that allowed me to push down the basil, garlic and other ingredients as the blender worked.

BLENDER PESTO

Enough for 1 pound or six servings of pasta

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons pine nuts

2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed with a heavy knife blade and peeled

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1.
Put the pine nuts, garlic cloves, basil and extra-virgin olive oil in
the blender and mix at high speed. Stop from time to time and scrape
the ingredients down toward the bottom of the blender cup with a rubber
spatula.

2.
When the ingredients are evenly blended, pour into a bowl and beat in
the two grated cheeses by hand. (This is not much work, and it results
in more interesting texture and better flavor than you get when you mix
in the cheese in the blender.) If you do not want to use the pesto
immediately, put it into a closed container and freeze it before you add
the cheese.

3.
Before spooning the pesto over the pasta, add to it a tablespoon or so
of the hot water in which the pasta has boiled. Do not heat the pesto
before you add it to the pasta.

Note:
The best pesto has a great deal of basil in it. I use leaves and stems,
and pack a measuring cup with it. The more basil, the better. I've also
added mint, rosemary, arugula, parsley and other herbs, but think basil
makes the best pesto.

Our other entrees were Crab Cakes ($16), which came under a blanket of salad, and Fish Jerky ($18), a Korean dish known as Jwee Po.

I was told rice was available on request, but the restaurant doesn't serve any of the side dishes or panchan that usually come with a Korean meal.

House Salad came with oil-and-vinegar dressing on the side.

Carrot and celery sticks are served with Korean Wings.

Lettuce Wrap with chicken, cucumber and mango.

Fish Jerky comes with chewy dried squid, left, and peanuts.

We were happy with all of our food, though I felt the sweet, leathery Fish Jerky with chewy squid and peanuts on the side is the kind of bar food that doesn't belong on a dinner menu.

It's a dish best consumed with many pints of cold beer or a bottle of soju. The young Korean-American men and women on the wait staff are eager to please, though the waiter taking our order showed his inexperience when he asked me which dressing we wanted with our Classic Caesar Salad.Crown doesn't offer the low prices of a Korean soft-tofu house, but it's food is priced at about the same level as a meal in a cook-on-the-table barbecue restaurant, such as So Moon Non Jip, which is across the street.

I was disappointed Crown's menu didn't offer any fresh fish fillets or whole fish, a weakness I have found at most Korean-owned restaurants, which sell tons of squid, octopus, shrimp and shellfish.

The restaurant serves breakfast from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and lunch starting at 11:30, then closes for an hour at 4 p.m.

The Crown Restaurant interior is warm and inviting.

I was happy to see the closing of the Golden Eagle, a Greek diner, which town fathers allowed to operate around the clock.However, many years ago, Palisades Park passed an ordinance ordering the growing number of 24-hour Korean restaurants to close for a few hours every night.Crown Restaurant was under construction for 18 months, one of the employees said. I'm glad it's finally here.

It's also one of the few restaurants in the Little Seoul section of Palisades Park with a free parking lot.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

No visit to Montvale would be complete without stopping at the hilltop store of DePiero's Country Farm.

Unfortunately, all of the fresh, local produce and the relaxed food-shopping experience soon may be just a memory.If town officials approve, half of the farm's 55 acres will be used to build a huge Wegmans Food Market, displacing the homey farm store.The Wegmans would be the chain's first store in Bergen County.

The Wegmans in Woodbridge is an enormous 140,000 square feet -- bigger than any other supermarket in Bergen.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Editor's note: Today, I discuss preparing frozen and fresh wild salmon, using a no-calorie cooking spray instead of oil, and pass along a a couple of bargains I found at Costco Wholesale and H Mart.

If past years are any guide, fresh wild salmon will be available at Costco Wholesale for only a couple of more weeks.But frozen Alaskan wild sockeye salmon fillets are sold year-round, and we made a quick dinner the other night with four pieces we found in the freezer.We used a 16.7-ounce bottle of La Costena Green Mexican Salsa (medium spicy), a preservative-free combination of tomatillo, jalapeno pepper, iodized salt, corn starch and spices.I partially thawed the fillets, seasoned them with lime juice and Aleppo red pepper; put them in the pre-heated sauce, and covered the pan.They were ready in 10 minutes; from frozen, they usually cook in about 20 minutes.

I also blanched fresh collard greens from the Englewood H Mart (68 cents a pound), drained them and seasoned them with a little soy sauce and sesame oil.

Fresh wild king salmon from Costco is veined with heart-healthy fat.

Ready for the oven with Aleppo pepper, lime juice and chopped fresh herbs.

On Tuesday, I found fresh wild king salmon at the Hackensack Costco for $12.99 a pound -- a dollar more than when it first appeared a few weeks ago.At home, I chopped fresh oregano, basil and mint; sprinkled the fillets with a little salt, Aleppo red pepper and lime juice, and cooked them at 400 degrees (roast/convection oven setting).I had placed the salmon in a pan with aluminum foil and cooking spray.For medium rare, the inch-thick fillets cooked in about 10-12 minutes; they cooked through in about 15 minutes, but stayed moist.The high heat setting toasted the fresh herbs.

I also picked up a 2-pound package of those incomparable Campari tomatoes for $3.49 after an instant $1 coupon (through Sept. 23).

Two organic eggs prepared with no-calorie cooking spray.

No-calorie cooking sprayWe've been using the Kirkland Signature Canola Oil Cooking Spray I bought at Costco to cook eggs, sautee vegetables and prepare Jamaican ackee and saltfish.We substitute the spray for extra-virgin or canola oil.

The Kirkland Signature top is on the left.

A better bottle topBoth Costco and Trader Joe's have terrific 100% Spanish extra-virgin olive oils, and they are about the same price.

But the slit in the top of Costco's Kirkland Signature oil is ideal for drizzling, while the round hole in the Trader Joe's top requires more attention to avoid using too much oil.

Kimbap rolls, foreground, were 50% off at the Englewood H Mart.

Surprising bargain

On Wednesdays, I usually stop at Jerry's Gourmet and More in Englewood to pick up restaurant-quality takeout dinners, which are reduced to $5.99 from $7.99 after 4 p.m.

But this week, I went to H Mart in Englewood for prepared Korean food, and found a bargain on kimbap -- those addictive seaweed-wrapped rolls with egg, vegetables and fish.

The large package of Jinga kimbap was 50% off after 4 p.m. -- $2.49 instead of $4.99.

The new awning and sign on Main Street in Fort Lee.

Here we are

Ramen Setagaya in Fort Lee is easier to find now that it has a new awning and sign.

The ramen restaurant opened several months ago on Main Street near Center Avenue.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

When is the last time you saw that pledge or anything close to it on the menu of a fine-dining restaurant in North Jersey?Red Parrot Bistro on Englewood's Palisade Avenue is the closest thing you'll find to the Green Door Cafe, which served organic and naturally raised or grown food in Tenafly before it was closed by a fire in July 2010.

We had a fine dinner at Red Parrot on Saturday night in a dining room where only two or three other tables were occupied.From our perch in the window, we saw a half-dozen couples or family groups wander by, stop to stare at the awning and look over the menu posted outside, and move on.Red Parrot opened in July among a bunch of pricy restaurants on the east side of the tracks that divide Englewood, whose business district has a surprising number of vacant or shuttered storefronts.In contrast, the cheaper, ethnic restaurants on West Palisade Avenue were bustling.

Flat bread, extra-virgin olive oil and a black za'atar thyme mixture.

When we walked in to keep our 6 p.m. reservation, we were greeted by Gary, the burly, good-natured chef-owner, who took my bottle of red wine and asked a waiter to seat us.

After we placed our order, the meal began with a bang.

Red Parrot has reinvented bread-and-butter service with a terrific trio: flat bread, extra-virgin olive oil and a pungent za'atar thyme mixture, some of the best I've ever had.My mother-in-law started with a Mixed Greens Salad and Champagne Vinagrette ($8), and I ordered Caesar Salad ($10), which was large enough to share with my wife.For entrees, we had Pan Roasted Chicken with mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes and Ratatouille ($23), Cilantro Shrimp Salad ($19) and grilled Ahi Tuna over Vegetable Lo Mein ($28).

We were pleased with our food, but I wanted more dressing in my Caesar Salad and a less soupy preparation of the Vegetable Lo Mein under my grilled Ahi Tuna.Service from the two waiters was well-meaning, though the one who took our order didn't know the soup of the day (white bean and sausage) or ask me how I wanted my Ahi Tuna cooked (rare).

The menu offers good variety, including French Onion Soup, a grass-fed burger with truffled ground brisket, short rib and foie gras on a toasted brioche; and lamb shank.

But the choice of fish is limited to the endangered Chilean Sea Bass and bigeye or Ahi Tuna, both of which are high in mercury.

I was hoping for a great piece of fish, such as hake, or even a whole grilled sea bass.

We were told one or two other seafood dishes weren't available Saturday night. Nor does the restaurant serve gluten-free or whole-wheat pasta.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

I used the spray to make an omelet from Costco egg whites, smoked salmon and capers.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss a food with no calories or fat; an easy omelet, a lower price for organic salad mix, restaurant-quality takeout that is marked down after 4 p.m., and a new, great-tasting whole-wheat pasta.

I picked up a new item at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack the other day, looked at the "Nutrition Facts" and came up with zero.

Zero -- as in no calories, fat, cholesterol or sodium. The serving size is listed as "one-quarter sec. spray" or .25 grams.Ingredients are "canola oil, soy lecithin, water and propellant."Kirkland Signature Canola Oil Cooking Spray must be a miracle food. How do they do that?

Two 16-ounce cans were $5.99 with an instant coupon deducting $1.75. The cooking spray reminds me of Lemon Lime Adirondack Seltzer, which lists "natural flavor" as one of the ingredients.That seltzer also lists zero calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium or sugar.Omelets galoreI used the cooking spray Friday morning to make an open-face omelet with grated cheese, wild smoked sockeye salmon and capers, all from Costco.I usually use extra-virgin olive oil to cook my omelets. A tablespoon of oil contains 120 calories -- all from fat.

Using egg whites from Costco, I started making open-face omelets that allow me to add a lot of ingredients, but don't require folding.In the past, I tried to cram too much into a traditional omelet and even if I was successful in folding it in half, the omelet usually fell apart.The open-face omelet just slides off the non-stick pan onto your plate.I start with two mixed whole eggs or the equivalent in egg whites poured into an 8-inch non-stick pan, allowing the omelet to cook through from the bottom.Once the bottom is set, I add the ingredients of the day as well as such accents as crushed Aleppo red pepper or za'atar, a dried thyme mixture.

There is sodium in the egg whites and most of the ingredients I use, so there is no need to add salt.

Kirkland Signature Real Egg Product is 99% pure egg whites.

Earthbound Farm Organic Half & Half with added tomato and cucumber.

Salad price drops

My wife went to Costco Wholesale in Hackensack on Friday for more Earthbound Farm Organic Half & Half -- spring mix and baby spinach -- and when I looked at the receipt, I rubbed my eyes.The Half & Half or Organic Spring Mix, sold in a 1-pound clear-plastic tub, usually sells for $4.79 to $4.99, the best price in North Jersey.

But the organic salad mix rang up at only $3.99 -- a price I've seen only at a Costco in South San Francisco.Sunset-brand Romana Tomatoes also were $3.99 for 2 pounds.A 10-pound bag of Earthbound Farm Organic Carrots was $6.99.

Lundberg organic brown rice doesn't require pre-soaking.

Amazon saves the dayI was disappointed last week when I went in search of Della-brand Organic Long Grain Brown Rice and found out Costco had discontinued the item.

When I got home, I went online and found Lundberg Organic Brown Long Grain Rice at Amazon.com, and ordered six 2-pound packages.

Like the Della-brand rice, this rice doesn't require pre-soaking and can be prepared in an electric cooker.

But the Lundberg rice appears to be grown in California, not in the South, where Della grows its rice.

Consumer Reports magazine has said that rice grown on old cotton fields in the South may contain traces of arsenic, which was used to kill the boll weevil, a beetle that feeds on cotton buds and flowers.

"We pride ourselves on growing rice that is good for you and the environment," the Lundberg package states.

The plastic bag is BPA-free.

Jerry's red snapper with vegetables and a cheese-stuffed mushroom.

Good eating tonightAfter a hard, 4-hour volunteer shift at the hospital on Wednesday, cooking dinner was the furthest thing from my mind, but I had skipped lunch and was hungry.On the way home, I stopped at Jerry's Gourmet and More in Englewood, and picked two Meals To Go -- red snapper and fried shrimp.The restaurant-quality dinners are $7.99 each, but it was after 4 p.m., so I paid only $5.99 each.My red-snapper dinner came with carrot, string beans, a stuffed mushroom cap, roast potatoes and pasta.I left the starches for someone else, poured a glass of red wine, made a salad and savored every bite.

Colavita Whole Wheat Capellini with sardines and anchovies.

New whole-wheat pasta

Besides the dinners, I picked up two 16-ounce packages of imported whole-wheat pasta at Jerry's.

The Colavita Spaghetti and Capellini are $1.49 each -- 10 cents more than Trader's Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Penne or Fusilli.

As part of my diet, I've stopped eating white pasta. Colavita and Trader Joe's 100% whole-wheat pastas taste the same as regular pasta, but contain much more fiber and leave you feeling satisfied longer.

The Colavita package recommends using "4 to 6 quarts of slightly salted water," but you can use far less water and skip the salt.There is already plenty of sodium in the Victoria-brand bottled Marinara Sauce I used on Friday night, as well as the sardines and anchovies in their oil, so why add more?I also found the 3-minute cooking time listed to be optimistic. I cooked the pasta for 5 minutes before draining it and mixing it with the bubbling sauce.This morning, I plan to have some leftover whole-wheat capellini topped with two organic eggs sunny side up.I love breaking the yolks over the pasta, and eating them together.